Credit: John Wilcox

As the search for a new Massport executive director takes the next step by beginning the process of hiring a search firm, one board member says the new hire must “understand government.”

“I personally think it’s very important that the next CEO have a lot of experience in the public sector,” said John Nucci, a member of the Massport board of directors and a former city councilor. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that the candidate has to come from government, but understanding government is a big part of the job.”

Massport’s current CEO, Thomas Glynn, is stepping down in November, one year earlier than his contract that is up in November 2019. Prior to taking over Massport’s executive position in 2012, Glynn held positions of chief operating officer of Partners HealthCare from 1996 to 2010. He was deputy U.S. labor secretary for President Bill Clinton’s administration from 1993 to 1996, and first gained experience in transportation when he was appointed by then-Gov. Michael Dukakis as the general manager of the MBTA in 1989.

“I’ve been able to watch Tom closely, and the big reason for his success has been his ability to navigate the halls of government,” Nucci said.

Prior to Glynn’s hiring, David S. Mackey, Thomas J. Kinton Jr. and Craig Coy, served as executive directors of Massport. Virginia Buckingham, who had no prior aviation experience when she took over in 2000, was the executive director during the Sept. 11 attacks, when terrorist hijackers flew out of Logan International Airport. Peter Blute served as head of Massport before Buckingham from 1997 to 1999 and resigned after revelations that a rowdy boat trip was funded by his agency.

Nucci said there haven’t been any names thrown out yet for the new position.

“I think it’s a wide-open process right now,” Nucci said. “I think in addition to understanding government, we’re going to be looking for a strong manager.”

Glynn told the Herald on Tuesday that his replacement was discussed at last week’s board meeting and that Massport is moving forward with an RFP to hire a search firm.

“They plan to vote for the search firm at the November meeting,” Glynn said. “Then, it could probably take six or eight months to identify candidates, narrow it down, negotiate with them. We usually have used search firms over the years.”

Once the search firm has a list of candidates, the final decision will ultimately be up to the board of directors, Nucci said.